1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pod assembly for attachment to an aircraft.
2. Description of Related Art
Known pods or pod assemblies have been fastened to an aircraft for carrying either radiating electronic equipment, such as an electronic countermeasures system for producing electromagnetic jamming waves, or equipment containing volatile and flammable liquids, such as aerial refueling equipment for transferring fuel from the host aircraft to another aircraft in flight. Typically, such equipment is separately mounted in a pod or pods attached to the wing or contained within the fuselage of the aircraft.
Heretofore, radiating electronic equipment and aerial refueling equipment have not been combined in a single pod because of prevailing safety concerns over the use of radiating high power electronics in the vicinity of highly combustible aviation fuel vapors, and a corresponding desire to avoid the possibility of explosions. Thus, more than one pod has been employed to provide the physical separation previously believed to be necessary when radiating electronic equipment and aerial refueling equipment are transported by a single aircraft. The mounting of an additional pod on the aircraft to provide the physical separation increases the aerodynamic drag, wing stress and the overall weight of the aircraft. The desire to reduce drag is especially strong at times when the refueling hose and the attached paradrogue have been extended from the host aircraft in preparation for refueling the trailing aircraft.